The City of Asheville has been awarded a 2026 U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant to study improvements along the Hilliard Avenue corridor.
The budget for this study is $650,000 with a grant award of $585,000 and the City’s local match of $65,000.
The project will assess the feasibility of a new western extension of Hilliard Avenue to connect with the future Patton Avenue, a component of NCDOT’s $1.2 billion I-26 Connector Project. It will also evaluate multimodal opportunities including intersections, bicycle, pedestrian, transit, and stormwater improvements along the existing corridor between Biltmore Avenue and Haywood Street.
This type of study is an essential planning step to better understand existing rights-of-way, above-ground and underground utilities, and other constraints, in order to identify design solutions to improve safety and accessibility for all roadway users. It will also produce cost estimates and phasing strategies so that future design and construction funds can be programmed into the City’s budget.
Hilliard Avenue provides critical connectivity for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists into and out of Asheville’s downtown. It is a top-ranked corridor for accessibility improvements in the City’s GAP Plan, a key transit corridor, and is the only major east-west route in the city that currently has bike lanes.
City Council unanimously adopted a resolution at its February 24, 2026 meeting approving application for the highly competitive Federal grant and authorizing the City Manager to sign all necessary related documents to effect the grant.